Hydrology and water resources management in ancient India

Abstract

Abstract. Hydrologic knowledge in India has a historical footprint extending over several millenniums through the Harappan civilization (∼3000–1500 BCE) and the Vedic Period (∼1500–500 BCE). As in other ancient civilizations across the world, the need to manage water propelled the growth of hydrologic science in ancient India. Most of the ancient hydrologic knowledge, however, has remained hidden and unfamiliar to the world at large until the recent times. In this paper, we provide some fascinating glimpses into the hydrological, hydraulic, and related engineering knowledge that existed in ancient India, as discussed in contemporary literature and revealed by the recent explorations and findings. The Vedas, particularly, the Rigveda, Yajurveda, and Atharvaveda, have many references to the water cycle and associated processes, including water quality, hydraulic machines, hydro-structures, and nature-based solutions (NBS) for water management. The Harappan civilization epitomizes the level of development of water sciences in ancient India that includes construction of sophisticated hydraulic structures, wastewater disposal systems based on centralized and decentralized concepts, and methods for wastewater treatment. The Mauryan Empire (∼322–185 BCE) is credited as the first “hydraulic civilization” and is characterized by the construction of dams with spillways, reservoirs, and channels equipped with spillways (Pynes and Ahars); they also had an understanding of water balance, development of water pricing systems, measurement of rainfall, and knowledge of the various hydrological processes. As we investigate deeper into the references to hydrologic works in ancient Indian literature including the mythology, many fascinating dimensions of the Indian scientific contributions emerge. This review presents the various facets of water management, exploring disciplines such as history, archeology, hydrology and hydraulic engineering, and culture and covering the geographical area of the entire Indian subcontinent to the east of the Indus River. The review covers the period from the Mature Harappan Phase to the Vedic Period and the Mauryan Empire.

Late-Holocene paleoceanographic and climatic changes and their impact on Indian socio-economic conditions: Benthic foraminiferal evidence from the Bay of Bengal

“…During this interval, the decreased HSG concentration is attributed to the positive phase in North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), which results in increased monsoonal precipitation in lower latitudes (Bond et al, 2001) (Figure 5). The global events of MWP have also been documented in NW Himalaya (Singh et al, 2020b), the BoB (Govil and Naidu, 2011; Naidu et al, 2020), central India (Sinha et al, 2007), and the western Arabian Sea (Gupta et al, 2005). The Sahiya cave δ 18 O record shows MWP was extended from ~730 to 1150 AD (Kathayat et al, 2017).…”

“…Many hydraulic structures (dams, canals, and lakes) with spillways were created for irrigation and drinking purposes during the Mauryan period (Sutcliffe et al, 2011). The Mauryan kings were intrigued by the irrigation schemes (Singh et al, 2020a). The Mauryan Empire's Ahar-Pyne system, which is an excellent example of rainfall gathering and irrigation management, is still in operation in Bihar and Chhota Nagpur region (Pant and Verma, 2010).…”

Baseflow and transmission loss: A review

“…The foreword in the publication by UNESCO (1974) acknowledged that scientific hydrology began in 1674 with the publication of Perrault's book “De l'origine des fontaines” (On the origin of springs) (see Dumitrescu & Nemec, 1974), though recently, Singh, Dey, Jain, and Mujumdar (2020) concluded that hydrologic knowledge in India extends over several millennia. However, it was not until 1842 that the concept of baseflow recession appeared to be recognized by Dausse (1842), and, according to Horton (1933), it was a further half century for the traditional baseflow recession equation (Equation (1)) to be proposed by Boussinesq in 1903 and, independently, by Maillet (1905): where Q t is the discharge at time t , Q 0 is the discharge when t = 0, and a is a constant (which is equivalent to a in later Equation (3).…”

Rise and Fall of the Grand Canal in the Ancient Kaifeng City of China: Role of the Grand Canal and Water Supply in Urban and Regional Development

“…Shaw et al (2007) believed that the development of advanced irrigation systems in ancient India led to complex city societies and centers. The Indus Valley Civilization Complex (3000-1500 BC) was very prominent in water conservancy projects [7], as shown in Figure 2. All information are taken from [4].…”